rabble.ca - Environmenthttps://rabble.ca/issues/environment
enClimate crisis presents urgent existential threat this election https://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/09/climate-crisis-presents-urgent-existential-threat-election
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/elections">Elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/environment">Environment</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/politics-canada">Politics in Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/36361177134_4b900314f0_k.jpg?itok=uB9K66IQ" width="1180" height="600" alt="Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Image: University of the Fraser Valley/Flickr" title="Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. Image: University of the Fraser Valley/Flickr" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>We should consider this election a privilege. For the first time, the top issue in voters' minds is the main threat not only to Canada but to organized human life: environmental crisis. How often does that happen? Never.</p>
<p>It's not No. 1 by acclamation. It gets about a quarter of votes most of the time. Or hovers near the top. Nor does this mean the leaders, with one exception, will treat it centrally. That's because they don't really know what to do, even if they recognize the peril. They'd rather yammer about affordability or corruption. Yammeryammeryammer.</p>
<p>So this is a great moment because "the people" actually have the priorities right. It isn't 2008 when Stéphane Dion ran quixotically on his Green Shift and got little response. Why is it different now? Because the concern isn't based on an "overwhelming" scientific consensus or endless UN panel reports. People see it in their lives: vanishing coastlines, fiercer storms, melting glaciers, once-in-a-century weather that happens five times a year. Everyone in their fashion.</p>
<p>(My own trivial version is a retractable dock I acquired to prevent ice damage. It hangs in sanctuary over the lake, except when the ice arrives eight feet higher than ever due to -- who knows: the polar ice cap melting? It's not Bangladesh but that did focus my thinking.)</p>
<p>The clarity hasn't come without complexity: A poll last week showed 70 per cent put climate change at the top but 58 per cent also back oil and gas development. Do they want to have their cake and eat it too? You bet, that's what humans do. At Quebec separatism's height, comic Yvon Deschamps said Quebecers want an independent Quebec in a strong and united Canada.</p>
<p>There's no reason people shouldn't try to have it both, or all ways. Maybe it can be done. Is it more "realistic" to tell people to choose between their family's welfare and a burnt planet? Don't just apply logic, listen to what they're saying.</p>
<p>Green Leader Elizabeth May is in a unique position here. The Greens exist due to the climate crisis. (She's also, IMO, the most prime ministerial leader.) She acknowledges the dichotomies and says her party would provide a five-year transition for people losing their jobs in the oil/energy sector. But. It seems to me she offers this in a tone that implies a basic income or welfare. "We" will provide it to you. This neglects the elements of identity and dignity that go with a job and it will be a hard or offensive sell to many people in those sectors.</p>
<p>In her campaign launch, May dug that hole deeper. She used an undeniably powerful image: she said when a fire breaks out, it's up to the adults to get the kids out, then fight the fire. And if there are adults who don't see how serious it is, she's ready to toss them over her shoulder and save them too.</p>
<p>That's a pretty undignified and demeaning image; also a messianic or salvational one. It's a tad Christian, in the sense of having the gospel truth and imposing it on the faithless, saving them -- not their souls but their bodies -- from their own waywardness, whether they want it or not. (May is an ordained Anglican priest.)</p>
<p>But that's a peccadillo compared to the substance of her call. The urgency is real. It's somewhat like the 1930s when everyone with eyes could see what was coming. If anything the signs then -- Anschluss, rearmament, the Nuremberg laws -- were less blatant than they are now. There was still room to hope the abyss could be averted.</p>
<p>Appeasement wasn't totally ridiculous or unthinkable, especially with the carnage of the First World War still near. It just turned out to be disastrously wrong and made the Second World War not only inevitable but worse: 70-85 million deaths, roughly double that of the previous war.</p>
<p>The signs of climate disaster today are even less subject to interpretation. May has used the Munich analogy and took a lot of stick for it but I consider it apt, even understated. She called it worse than appeasement then, and I think you can make that case. They had excuses, many of them poor; we have none.</p>
<p><em>Rick Salutin writes about current affairs and politics. This column was first published in the</em> <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/09/12/a-unique-election-why-the-house-is-burning-and-voters-know-it.html" target="_blank">Toronto Star</a>.</p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ufv/36361177134/in/photolist-Xp7xa9-2gxpKqZ-2gb3e7Q-2g3HHye-2fxFsef-2cJux61-256Z8iN-22JiBfr-Xp7xQY-Yswekp-Xp7xqQ-YogDNw-Xp7wTN-Xp7wKm-YogD8U-V3x6Xi-UKqh8p-QkWFqG-RyU12w-RrFtAT-PCM9xQ-PYHhLy-P8ksy7-PkV3UM-EujGXW-Ewy5NF-DHoBGD-Eqo3zZ-Yk8Z1y-XnQ1sz-VoEQx1-PaPPv8-M97GzH-K6dP3f-EfGsJA-A5BQUJ-A6KAVq-zL6r6o-A4DMez-z6NXxk-A2xoQS-z6NjcD-A4Cckz-z6Nid4-A4CbVg-zL6kUQ-zL4Nej-z6Nevp-z6DG4n-A5BPDs" target="_blank">University of the Fraser Valley/Flickr</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/2019-federal-election">2019 federal election</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/5912">Climate Change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/green-party">green party</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/elizabeth-may">elizabeth may</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/bios/contributor/columnist/rick-salutin">Rick Salutin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">September 13, 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/08/canadian-politics-true-right-wing-populism-nonstarter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In Canadian politics, true right-wing populism is a nonstarter</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Elsewhere in the world, right-wing populism is having a moment. But in Canada, you can&#039;t do outright denial or ridicule, à la Trump or Bolsonaro.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio/2019/08/elizabeth-may-we-dont-have-choose-between-economy-and">Elizabeth May -- we don&#039;t have to choose between the economy and the environment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Why is it that so many people believe we can have a stable economy or healthy environment, but not both? Green Party Leader Elizabeth May talks to Victoria Fenner about this and more.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/news/2019/06/ndp-links-environment-economic-justice-head-green-challenge" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NDP links environment with economic justice to head off Green challenge</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The NDP has released its full set of election campaign commitments early, in the hope that those policy proposals will become a key part of the national conversation leading up to the October vote.</div></div></div>Fri, 13 Sep 2019 15:09:29 +0000rabble staff165271 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/09/climate-crisis-presents-urgent-existential-threat-election#comments'Emergency Climate Musical' -- James Gordon sings us a way out of ecological despairhttps://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio/2019/09/emergency-climate-musical-james-gordon-sings-us-way-out
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/40095">Victoria Fenner</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-10 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio">rabble radio</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/JamesGordonwithDonaldTrump%20cropped.jpg?itok=r08A7zcs" width="1180" height="600" alt="James Gordon and pal working on the script. Image: James Gordon/Facebook" title="James Gordon and pal working on the script. Image: James Gordon/Facebook" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">September 12, 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/arts-culture">Arts &amp; Culture</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/environment">Environment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>James Gordon thinks that we might be able to sing our way towards a solution in dealing with the climate crisis. Not just through song alone, of course, but by mobilizing groups of people and lifting the mood a little bit with a whole theatrical range of seriousness, scariness, inspiration and hopefulness. </p>
<p>Today on rabble radio, podcast executive producer and rabble radio host Victoria Fenner talks to James Gordon at his debut performance at a house concert in Barrie, Ontario. And he even gave her permission to play some of his songs from the show. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jamesgordon.ca/" target="_blank">James Gordon</a>, for those of you who haven't heard him before, is a singer songwriter whose career goes back some 40 years. He has recorded over 40 albums and has written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre, dance, film scores, as well as performing his own work all over North America. He was even a song writer in residence for CBC Radio. He's still touring and writing, but now has to divide his time between songifying and sitting in city council chambers of Guelph, where he is in his second term as a councillor.</p>
<p>One of the things he's been known for, especially in the run up to the 2015 election, was his production <em><a href="https://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5612547-james-gordon-bringing-stephen-harper-the-musical-back-to-guelph/" target="_blank">Stephen Harper – the Musical</a>.</em> That's one of the hazards of tying your songs to the news agenda. Sometimes you have to retire some of your repertoire when the world moves on. But as you'll hear, Gordon is good with that. And now, his tradition of interpreting the news in song and dance continues with his latest production.</p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/JamesGordonMusic/photos/a.122692719071113/122692672404451/?type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank">James Gordon/Facebook</a></em></p>
<p><em>Music: from "Emergency Climate Musical" - Used with permission of James Gordon</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/5929">climate crisis</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/music-change">music for change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/25333">theatre</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-mp3 field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">
<div class="jp-audio">
<div class="jp-type-single">
<div id="jplayer-node-165211-field-mp3-1568540419" class="jp-jplayer"></div>
<div id="jplayer-node-165211-field-mp3-1568540419_interface" class="jp-interface">
<ul class="jp-controls">
<li><a href="#" class="jp-play" tabindex="1">play</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-pause" tabindex="1">pause</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-stop" tabindex="1">stop</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-mute" tabindex="1">mute</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-unmute" tabindex="1">unmute</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="jp-progress">
<div class="jp-seek-bar">
<div class="jp-play-bar"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="jp-volume-bar">
<div class="jp-volume-bar-value"></div>
</div>
<div class="jp-current-time"></div>
<div class="jp-duration"></div>
</div>
<div id="jplayer-node-165211-field-mp3-1568540419_playlist" class="jp-playlist">
<ul><li class="first jp-playlist-first last jp-playlist-last" oncontextmenu=""><a href="https://rpn.s3.amazonaws.com/rr%20emergency%20climate%20musical%20Sept%2012%2019.mp3" id="jplayer-node-165211-field-mp3-1568540419_item_0" tabindex="1" onclick="">‘Emergency Climate Musical’ -- James Gordon sings us a way out of ecological despair.</a></li>
</ul> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div>Thu, 12 Sep 2019 14:49:17 +0000Victoria Fenner165211 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio/2019/09/emergency-climate-musical-james-gordon-sings-us-way-out#commentsConnecting the dots between the climate and biodiversity criseshttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/david-suzuki/2019/09/connecting-dots-between-climate-and-biodiversity-crises
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">David Suzuki</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/5937599688_101e15c6b6_o.jpg?itok=Fn_4j5mG" width="1180" height="600" alt="Image: NASA/Flickr" title="Image: NASA/Flickr" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The polar bear has become the poster child for climate change impacts in the Arctic. Sea ice, which the bears depend on for hunting, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/02/heatwaves-amplify-near-record-levels-of-ice-melt-in-northern-hemisphere" target="_blank">melting at an ever-expanding rate</a>.</p>
<p>For other species, climate impacts are not as direct. The 2019 <em><a href="http://nabci.net/resources/state-of-canadas-birds-2019/" target="_blank">State of Canada's Birds</a></em> report found aerial insectivores like swifts, swallows, and nightjars have declined by 59 per cent since 1970. The report cites climate change as one of several threats, as severe weather limits insect availability.</p>
<p>Similarly, according to Lauren Meads, director of the <a href="https://www.burrowingowlbc.org/" target="_blank">Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of B.C.</a>, extreme weather events linked to climate change have affected habitat where captive rehabilitated burrowing owls are released, affecting their ability to return to breeding grounds the following year.</p>
<p>For those working to help species recover, addressing the primary cause of decline is key. Although climate disruption is exacerbating the plight of many species, the polar bear and its Arctic neighbours stand (or swim or fly) alone to some extent. The primary cause of decline for most at-risk species in Canada is habitat loss and degradation.</p>
<p>Some industries are trying to use the ever-evolving climate crisis to stall habitat protection and recovery. When the <a href="https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/caribou/article36776410/" target="_blank">forestry industry called for a delay</a> in much-needed recovery measures, citing the need to explore climate change impacts on caribou populations, some leading caribou scientists wrote, "There is little evidence to suggest that climate change brought caribou populations to their current threatened condition, nor does climate change explain the rapid rates of decline and range recession that are continuing today in many locations."</p>
<p>Although they intersect, the ecological emergency driving species imperilment and the climate crisis can't be entirely conflated. The extinction crisis is caused by a lack of sufficient limits to development, agricultural, and resource-extraction activities. The climate crisis is caused by a lack of sufficient limits to greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere.</p>
<p>That isn't to say that there isn't significant overlap, in causes and solutions.</p>
<p>A Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society report says, "Human activity, including industrial farming, logging, mining, hydro-electric development, and oil and gas exploration, have caused these twin ecological crises, which are closely interrelated." <em><a href="https://cpaws.org/cpaws-report-calls-on-federal-government-to-step-up-climate-action-through-nature-based-solutions/" target="_blank">Finding Common Ground</a></em> finds, "Reducing human-driven land use change in Canada's ecosystems, especially wetlands, offers a potential treasure trove of emission reductions with significant biodiversity benefits."</p>
<p>This is especially true in Alberta and northeastern B.C., where oil and gas development have devastated caribou habitat and imperilled wildlife and the Indigenous communities that depend on it. Industrial activity has disturbed 96 per cent of the <a href="https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/document/default_e.cfm?documentID=2253" target="_blank">Little Smoky caribou range</a> and 70 to 80 per cent of the Chinchaga, West Side Athabasca River, East Side Athabasca River, Cold Lake, Nipisi, and Slave Lake boreal caribou ranges.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/woodland-caribou-boreal-2019.html" target="_blank">high disturbance levels</a> reduce caribou populations' chances of persistence to less than 20 per cent. To increase their chances, significant changes are needed to contain the logging and oil and gas footprint and initiate aggressive restoration.</p>
<p>Protecting habitat such as the boreal forest, rich with peatlands, would also serve as a means of sequestering carbon.</p>
<p>Wildlife decline isn't just an ecological issue. In B.C.'s Peace River Valley, more than three-quarters of Blueberry River First Nations traditional territory is within a few minutes' walk of industrial disturbance. In May 2019, <a href="https://davidsuzuki.org/expert-article/blueberry-river-first-nations-seeking-justice/" target="_blank">Blueberry took the province to court</a>, arguing that the cumulative impacts of industrial activities -- primarily oil and gas -- have significantly affected the lands and wildlife within their traditional territory and, accordingly, their treaty rights to hunt and fish.</p>
<p>Although there are different ways to mend and mitigate the two crises, the root causes -- avoiding our duties to repair what we have fractured, neglecting to set limits to human activities, stalling direly needed actions -- are the same, as are the broad solutions: recognizing our impacts on the planet, taking responsibility for them and coming together to take immediate, meaningful action. As the CPAWS report says, protecting and restoring forests, peatlands, grasslands, and wetlands can advance biodiversity and climate goals.</p>
<p>As daunting as both crises are, we can't look away. We must face them and change course.</p>
<p>All living things depend on a stable climate and functioning ecosystems. Our planet is the only one with badgers and dragonflies -- and chocolate! It's worth fighting for.</p>
<p><em>David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation boreal project manager Rachel Plotkin. Learn more at <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org">www.davidsuzuki.org</a>. </em></p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5937599688/in/photolist-a3FKwq-wrM8B-ug7tx-wrMAE-LoNrLP-LgXY16-axJqok-LeuYdC-eDMXY6-fUAeYx-KrQM77-28p3Zd7-5HTN7c-7n4yUd-KVYe-5pTLVJ-7mZFxF-dJHTXZ-wrM3b-wrMX8-fSCEx1-wrN8U-frW9ZN-V4QewL-k7L4QJ-7Qv2rg-ug7vK-wrMs5-ahuHhZ-f1KPVM-6QjD2C-SqMZTG-dqyf1B-nKJoFZ-6CAqoU-cDEAiU-7tUVUY-aKRviH-bmde5-4cULNo-6UTVr3-wrML1-4utf2C-hGrHkw-dixVNV-9RVy7S-bDJLVo-6fjXVh-RejUZP-fTNH56" target="_blank">NASA</a>/Flickr</em></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 10 Sep 2019 21:56:53 +0000David Suzuki165131 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/david-suzuki/2019/09/connecting-dots-between-climate-and-biodiversity-crises#commentsChallenging the harms of hydroelectricity projectshttps://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio/2019/09/challenging-harms-hydroelectricity-projects
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/37822">Scott Neigh</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-10 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio">Talking Radical Radio</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/trr_sep9-13_2019_wa_ni_ska_tan_alliance_rect.jpg?itok=sKTF65kc" width="1180" height="600" alt="Image: Used with permission of Wa Ni Sak Tan: an alliance of hydro-impacted communities." title="Image: Used with permission of Wa Ni Sak Tan: an alliance of hydro-impacted communities." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">September 10, 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/environment">Environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/indigenous-rights">Indigenous Rights</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Ramona Neckoway is a professor at the University College of the North in Thompson, Manitoba. She is also a member of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, a hydro-impacted community. Stephane McLachlan is a professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Both do research studying the impacts and implications of hydroelectricity projects on the environment and on Indigenous communities. Scott Neigh interviews them about <a href="http://hydroimpacted.ca" target="_blank">Wa Ni Ska Tan</a>, an alliance that brings together people from communities in Manitoba that have been impacted by hydroelectricity projects, as well as their supporters, for both action and research.</p>
<p>In the last two decades, industry has deployed increasingly extreme mechanisms to extract fossil fuels. From fracking to the tarsands, these forms of extraction are toxic, dangerous and of course contribute to the growing global climate crisis.</p>
<p>Given that, it is tempting to rush uncritically towards any energy source that brands itself as "green," "renewable," or "sustainable." In the Canadian context, by far the most developed approach that claims those labels is hydroelectricity -- that is, electricity produced via generators driven by flows of water. Around <a href="https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/electricity-facts/20068" target="_blank">60 per cent of Canada's electricity</a> is hydro. In Manitoba, that number is 96.8 per cent.</p>
<p>Among most Canadians, hydro has a pretty green reputation. However, this benevolent image does not hold up if you actually go and talk to people who live in communities that bear the brunt of what hydro projects do.</p>
<p>The impact on the land is often devastating -- some lakes are de-watered, other areas are flooded, water flow patterns are altered using human-made channels, shorelines are radically reconfigured, water is contaminated and ecosystems are disrupted. The social, economic and cultural impacts on the local people can be profound. And of course, the impacted communities are frequently Indigenous. In terms of what they do to land and to people, many hydro projects belong in the same tradition of industrial colonialism as resource extraction projects like mining and fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Wa Ni Ska Tan is a Cree phrase meaning "rise up" or "wake up." Though a range of communities from across the province are involved in the alliance, its core work centres Cree communities in the north, including Neckoway's.</p>
<p>There is, of course, a fraught history when it comes to collaborations between academics and Indigenous communities, so it is a priority for the alliance to centre the communities and community members in decision-making and to emphasize equity in its operations.</p>
<p>The impacts of hydro projects in Manitoba have not been systematically documented since the 1970s, so that is one aspect of the alliance's work. People from impacted communities have made it a major priority for the alliance to use the resulting material (including the stories of residents) to educate decision-makers and to raise awareness and mobilize support among grassroots people elsewhere in the country.</p>
<p>The alliance also engages in other forms of research, documentary filmmaking, developing teaching resources, and providing support and mentorship for Indigenous youth. They work to get resources to communities and to create opportunities for cross-community relationship-building and collaboration.</p>
<p>Another key part of the alliance's work is creating opportunities for people from impacted communities to advocate directly with relevant regulators and decision-makers. And the alliance's next big event will be a <a href="http://hydroimpacted.ca/2019-conference/" target="_blank">gathering</a> from November 8-10 in Winnipeg that will bring together people from hydro-impacted communities not only in Manitoba but from other parts of Canada and around the world.</p>
<p><em>Image: Used with permission of Wa Ni Sak Tan: an alliance of hydro-impacted communities.</em></p>
<p><em>Theme music: "It Is the Hour (Get Up)" by Snowflake, via <a href="http://ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/29123" target="_blank">CCMixter</a></em></p>
<p>***********************</p>
<p><em>Talking Radical Radio brings you grassroots voices from across Canada, giving you the chance to hear many different people that are facing many different struggles talk about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it, in the belief that such listening is a crucial step in strengthening all of our efforts to change the world. To learn more about the show check out our website <a href="http://talkingradical.ca/radio/" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TalkingRadical/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/TalkingRadical" target="_top">Twitter</a>, or contact <a href="mailto:scottneigh@talkingradical.ca">scottneigh@talkingradical.ca</a> to join our weekly email update list. </em></p>
<p><em>Talking Radical Radio is brought to you by <a href="http://scottneigh.ca" target="_blank">Scott Neigh</a>, a writer, media producer, and activist based in Hamilton (formerly Sudbury), Ontario, and the author of <a href="http://talkingradical.ca/project-details/" target="_blank">two books</a> examining Canadian history through the stories of activists. </em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24503">sustainable energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/hydroelectric-power">hydroelectric power</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/manitoba">manitoba</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/cree-nation">cree nation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-23 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/regions/ca/mb">MB</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-mp3 field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">
<div class="jp-audio">
<div class="jp-type-single">
<div id="jplayer-node-165091-field-mp3-1568540419" class="jp-jplayer"></div>
<div id="jplayer-node-165091-field-mp3-1568540419_interface" class="jp-interface">
<ul class="jp-controls">
<li><a href="#" class="jp-play" tabindex="1">play</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-pause" tabindex="1">pause</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-stop" tabindex="1">stop</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-mute" tabindex="1">mute</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-unmute" tabindex="1">unmute</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="jp-progress">
<div class="jp-seek-bar">
<div class="jp-play-bar"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="jp-volume-bar">
<div class="jp-volume-bar-value"></div>
</div>
<div class="jp-current-time"></div>
<div class="jp-duration"></div>
</div>
<div id="jplayer-node-165091-field-mp3-1568540419_playlist" class="jp-playlist">
<ul><li class="first jp-playlist-first last jp-playlist-last" oncontextmenu=""><a href="https://rpn.s3.amazonaws.com/TRR_rpn_sep9-13_2019_wa_ni_ska_tan_alliance.mp3" id="jplayer-node-165091-field-mp3-1568540419_item_0" tabindex="1" onclick="">Wa Ni Sak Tan: Challenging the harms of hydroelectricity projects</a></li>
</ul> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div>Tue, 10 Sep 2019 12:53:55 +0000scott.neigh165091 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio/2019/09/challenging-harms-hydroelectricity-projects#commentsEars to the wall! Alberta's environmental snitch line is now accepting emailshttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alberta-diary/2019/09/ears-wall-albertas-environmental-snitch-line-now-accepting
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">David J. Climenhaga</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/48199806282_6aa9357e54_k.jpg?itok=XQq2YR5k" width="1180" height="600" alt="Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announces the launch of a public inquiry into foreign-funded anti-Alberta energy campaigns. Image: Government of Alberta/Flickr" title="Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announces the launch of a public inquiry into foreign-funded anti-Alberta energy campaigns. Image: Government of Alberta/Flickr" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>There's no longer any need to feel helpless if your kids think Greta Thunberg is cool, your neighbour tells you she's not going to use Roundup on her dandelions anymore, or you think you've spotted a foreign-funded environmentalist cruising around your neighbourhood in a green Tesla.</p>
<p>The House Un-Albertan Activities Committee is on the job and its environmental snitch line is now accepting emails. Anything you say may be taken down and used against somebody who runs afoul of Premier Jason Kenney's $2.5-million inquiry to ferret out foreign-funded eco-subversives.</p>
<p>And it's never too early to say something if you've seen something! Or even if you only <em>think</em> you've seen something. The time is <em>now</em> to stop the green peril emanating from Rockefeller Center in New York City! <em>Who ya gonna call?</em></p>
<p>So don't wait to drop the dime! Boot up that iPad and start typing … <a href="mailto:submissions@albertainquiry.ca">submissions@albertainquiry.ca</a>.</p>
<p>Here in Alberta, <em>anyone</em> can join the committee for the defence of the oilsands.</p>
<p>"At this stage of the process, I'm focused on information gathering and fact finding, and that's why it is critical that I hear from anyone who has valuable information to share," said Steve Allan, the accountant from Calgary who's commissioner of the inquiry that's causing more chuckles on the West Coast than the original <em>Steve Allen Show</em>.</p>
<p>In addition to the enviro-snitch line, the inquiry has a cool website that tells about what the commissioner will do, which apparently includes "planning the next steps of the inquiry," an activity that may or may not include taking actual testimony from actual people.</p>
<p>But first, Commissioner Allan's got side trips planned to Washington, Toronto, Vancouver and Haida Gwaii, all nice places where the inquiry has no authority whatsoever. He might want to bring along a hat and a pair of sunglasses for his visits to the latter two stopovers.</p>
<p>The inquiry has a FAQ page with answers to some of the pressing questions you may have, including the important news that "various parties are assisting the commissioner," nothing the inquiry does is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and "the commissioner may also pursue the attendance or testimony of persons located outside the province of Alberta."</p>
<p>It'll be interesting to see how that last bit works out, seeing as the inquiry has no jurisdiction outside the province of Alberta. Well, there's no reason you can't ask nicely!</p>
<p>The web page also suggests the commissioner won't be available for media interviews -- but don't worry, folks, the website will be updated from time to time.</p>
<p>Oh, and about that Vivian Krause person … the Vancouver blogger accused by her critics of being a conspiracy theorist is important enough to rate her own FAQ on the inquiry website, but about all it says is that Allan will be conducting "a thorough, independent and impartial assessment of the relevance and value of Ms. Krause's work." What the heck kind of a vote of confidence is that?</p>
<p><em>Full disclosure: I have been to Rockefeller Center, but I was just a tourist. Really. I have never been invited to the 56th floor. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the Green Party of Canada. DJC</em></p>
<p><em>David Climenhaga, author of the Alberta Diary blog, is a journalist, author, journalism teacher, poet and trade union communicator who has worked in senior writing and editing positions with </em>The<em> </em>Globe and Mail <em>and the </em>Calgary Herald<em>. This post also appears on David Climenhaga's blog, <a href="http://AlbertaPolitics.ca/" target="_blank">AlbertaPolitics.ca</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/governmentofalberta/48199806282/in/photolist-pAJ4R2-cphM49-pTfogh-pTdVi1-8GwbX-pAJab1-oWo6JV-7rHyYt-oWjyKC-oWngBc-dSsavg-TBUUUJ-WCwkbE-2fK6GAX-bxoneK-TFtNoo-bxonyX-2fufrHy-skmM52-2eb1kYe-2eb1m4K-27REpm1-udNq7o-2fyUL3i-ubAJzw-25nCyt6-25nCyyg-2fUCTh1-2eMu42b-2eMu4fN-TG59jN-S4PR2x-2gkRZRs-8BwofX-6cVtpM-24XjdpD-RNuQrn-KiatC8-ruiHCf-RNxabH-2eb1kQt-RNuQhV-2eb1oPp-2eb1kVD-2grfB9N-2gqyvg9-2gkwJ5k-2ge9vpM-2g9pRYY-5VeWju" target="_blank">Government of Alberta/Flickr</a></em></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 10 Sep 2019 06:17:55 +0000djclimenhaga165071 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alberta-diary/2019/09/ears-wall-albertas-environmental-snitch-line-now-accepting#commentsBurlington ramps up hostility to naturalized gardenshttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/09/burlington-ramps-hostility-naturalized-gardens
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Doreen Nicoll</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/Lorraine%20Johnson%20and%20Pam%20Ward%27s%20naturalized%20front%20garden.JPG?itok=GFkVvgVW" width="1180" height="600" alt="Photo of Lorraine Johnson&#039;s garden. Image: Lorraine Johnson" title="Photo of Lorraine Johnson&#039;s garden. Image: Lorraine Johnson" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>I have been contacted by naturalized gardeners from Burlington and experts from across the province of Ontario regarding the disgraceful, anti-environmental behaviour of the City of Burlington and its bylaw enforcement officers when it comes to naturalized front yards like Antheia's and Paul Raun's.</p>
<p>Dave Bour, a member of <a href="https://www.burlingtongreen.org/" target="_blank">Burlington Green</a>, copied me on his letter to the Burlington mayor, Marianne Meed Ward, and various councillors. Dave's letter is indicative of many that I received and is re-printed here:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I have to say as a long-term resident of Burlington, I'm disappointed to read of the city's approach to people trying to improve the environment by eliminating their grass and instead planting native plants drawing a collection of beneficial creatures including monarchs, various pollinators, birds and other small animals.</p>
<p>I applaud those taking the initiative to create sustainable yards that don't require a ton of chemicals nor water to survive, never mind eliminating the need for gas fuelled trimmers and mowers which are worse than most vehicles on the road.</p>
<p>Collectively, as a city and individuals, it is time to walk the talk. Some people are going to be upset. The sooner we educate the population on the real impact of climate change, the better the chance we have of mitigating its impact.</p>
<p>I realize it's all vogue to make the declarations right now because a lot of cities are doing it but let's, as a community, really do something about it. Let's make us the number one place in Canada to live as Maclean's declared us recently, not just for their ratings, but a truly environmental conscious place to live. We need to change our practices at our city parks regarding maintenance and plant choices, make personal decisions to live greener life styles, and challenge those who would complain of the natural preserves people are starting to grow.</p>
<p>Let's stop harassing those trying to do something positive. Every trend has to start somewhere."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Author and naturalized garden expert Lorraine Johnson also contacted Mayor Meed Ward. Full disclosure, Johnson wrote an article in the 2019 winter edition of <em><a href="https://www.oala.ca/ground-details/?issue=33552" target="_blank">Ground Magazine</a></em> about my fight to save the milkweed in my garden in July 2018.</p>
<p>Johnson actually met Mayor Meed Ward this past winter at the World Wildlife Fund and Carolinian Canada symposium on native plants and landscape restoration, at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Johnson recalls that Mayor Meed Ward spoke passionately about the importance of restoring landscapes and species.</p>
<p>Johnson realizes,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"A lot of people see naturalized gardens as landscapes that are neglected and 'let go,' and that neighbours are often concerned about a perceived impact on their own property values. I realize that the issues are complex and will require huge shifts in attitudes and practices. But we are at a crossroads, facing multiple environmental crises -- climate change, loss of habitats and species -- and what we need now more than ever are landscapes of biodiversity and resilience. Yet cities such as Burlington are using vague and contradictory bylaws to enforce dominant but outdated and environmentally harmful aesthetic "standards." In at least two Ontario court cases over naturalized gardens, the courts have affirmed a gardener's constitutional right to naturalized gardens, subject only to safety and health considerations. Just because someone doesn't like the 'look' of these landscapes is not a good enough -- or even legal -- reason for cities to mandate conformity to a standard that contributes to the environmental mess we're in."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Johnson has been involved in these issues for three decades and has been helping to draft policies related to natural gardens, including pollinator gardens, in Toronto. She very kindly offered in her letter to speak further with city representatives to "find a way to enact positive and enabling policies promoting naturalized gardens and to help educate the public about their crucial value and importance."</p>
<p>Once you read the response issued by the office of the mayor, you'll understand the bewilderment and frustration experienced by Bour, Johnson, myself and the many others who received the same emailed answer:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Thank you for your email regarding naturalized lawns in the City. In order for the City to do our part in efforts to protect species and help our environment, the City made changes in 2018 to our Lot Maintenance By-Law to allow for naturalized lawns. Our Lot Maintenance By-Law can be found here. The By-Law spells out the types of grass, weeds and plants that are permitted as per the Provinces Weed Control Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. W.5, as amended, on properties.</p>
<p>The By-Law defines a naturalized area as: 'a yard or a portion of a yard containing vegetative growth that does not form part of a natural garden that has been deliberately implemented to produce ground cover, including one or more species of wildflowers, shrubs, perennials, grasses or combinations of them, whether native or non-native, consistent with a managed and natural landscape other than regularly mown grass.' In addition, the By-Law requires that all property owners remove and destroy all noxious weeds from their property, including within naturalized areas, between May 1 and October 15 each calendar year.</p>
<p>There are numerous examples across the City of naturalized lawns where no enforcement action is taken due to the manner in which the lawns are carefully grown, maintained and cared for and where a buffer strip is maintained. The City's By-Law defines a "buffer strip" as cutting all grass and ground cover within three (3) feet of any adjoining property line. Similar By-Laws exist across municipalities within Ontario.</p>
<p>The City receives hundreds of complaints every year regarding the issue of tall grass and weeds as well as naturalization of properties. All complaints are investigated and treated the same under the provisions of our Lot Maintenance By-Law which allows the naturalization of properties. We give all property owners the right to clear and maintain their property to the provisions set out in the Lot Maintenance By-Law.</p>
<p>Enforcement only takes place after all avenues are exhausted by our Municipal By-Law Officers with the property owner whose property has not been brought into compliance with our By-Law. When it comes to enforcing By-laws in the City of Burlington, City staff always try to work collaboratively with residents including educating them about our By-Law requirements.</p>
<p>We encourage residents to continue to do their part to help the climate anyway they can including growing and maintaining naturalized lawns that fall within our Lot Maintenance By-law."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both Bour and Johnson expressed disappointment, arguing that the response was woefully inadequate and failed to address their concerns. Johnson has not received a reply to her offer of help.</p>
<p>Vince Fiorito, founder of Friends of Sheldon Creek, was copied on the response from the mayor's office and has since sent this reply to the mayor and council:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Dear Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and city council:</p>
<p>I appreciate and share your concerns regarding the city of Burlington's property standards.</p>
<p>City policy in this area is dated, contributes to climate change, environmental toxification and the biodiversity crisis.</p>
<p>My understanding is that Lorraine Johnson has offered to help the city of Burlington modernize city policies in this area.</p>
<p>Ms. Johnson is a successful author and recognized subject matter expert in naturalized gardens with significant experience helping cities modernize their property standards bylaw. I strongly recommend you accept her generous offer to help modernize city policies in this area.</p>
<p>I am also willing to help the city modernize its property standards bylaws and would consider it an honor to assist Ms. Johnson. I own many of her books, including one of her first, The Ontario Naturalized Gardener, which inspired me to cultivate endangered native species and host plants for endangered butterflies over 25 years ago.</p>
<p>I also recommend this working group to modernize city property standards bylaw include a representative of the Burlington horticultural society, which is why I cc'd their general inquiry email account.</p>
<p>I also recommend including city staff who enforce the property standards bylaw in the working group.</p>
<p>I recommend setting a date before Earth Day, April 22, 2020, as deadline to pass a new modernized property standards bylaw, so that the mayor can make a timely announcement.</p>
<p> A very talented wise person has made the city a very generous offer. I strongly recommend that you reply to her respectfully and in a way that unites everyone concerned about city property standards. We want the city of Burlington to be a leader in the effort to fight climate change, the biodiversity crisis and environmental toxification."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It's clear this issue of naturalized landscaping is far from being settled.</p>
<p>Fiorito passed along one last suggestion for the mayor and council: "We should demand all paintings that the city of Burlington acquires in the future that features landscapes also meet the same standards as Burlington's property standards. No artists in Burlington should be allowed to paint landscapes that aren't dominated by neatly mowed lawns."</p>
<p>Well, that opens up another whole new can of worms and one that would need to include dialogue from the new senior curator of the Art Gallery of Burlington, <a href="https://raisethehammer.org/article/3693/suzanne_carte_changing_art_gallery_of_burlington_one_inclusive_show_at_a_time" target="_blank">Suzanne Carte</a>.</p>
<p>Gardeners who want to expand or otherwise enhance their wildflower, butterfly and pollinator gardens should remember wildflowers drop their seeds at the end of their blossoming cycle in the late fall, before the first frost. Get yours now from the <a href="https://store.davidsuzuki.org/collections/wildflower-seed-store?utm_source=mkto-first-englishSolicitation-link-body&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=fallSeedSales-naturePlantsSeeds-en-04sep2019&amp;mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWm1ZNE5qWmhaVEV3TnpWbCIsInQiOiJkeW53dm5acVV0RUZhMk5Zd05XZ1FHdGhxaTdMRWlETTROVzVVRnA4c21YdGR4WDJWbXlZOWJWUldtNFJ3cFFmTlVYT1lINytNbXFPK3VJOFwvcmN1eEVZOFVpQ1wvZDFlUXNFNSs0c0dZNTVuZXJjVUFjR0d0eVRPa3ZUT0Y0WVRYIn0%3D" target="_blank">David Suzuki Foundation</a> in time for planting.</p>
<p><em>Doreen Nicoll is a freelance writer, teacher, social activist and member of several community organizations working diligently to end poverty, hunger and gendered violence.</em></p>
<p><em>Image: Lorraine Johnson</em></p>
</div></div></div>Sun, 08 Sep 2019 22:07:52 +0000Doreen Nicoll165051 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/09/burlington-ramps-hostility-naturalized-gardens#commentsEco-unfriendly Burlington cuts down naturalized gardenhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/09/eco-unfriendly-burlington-cuts-down-naturalized-garden
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Doreen Nicoll</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/Karen%20Barnes%20milkweed.jpg?itok=v00nZkY8" width="1180" height="600" alt="Antheia&#039;s garden. Image: Doreen Nicoll" title="Antheia&#039;s garden. Image: Doreen Nicoll" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>On August 15, I published an <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/08/burlington-declares-climate-emergency-orders-resident-cut" target="_blank">article</a> about Antheia, a long-time homeowner in Burlington who has been maintaining a naturalized area in her front yard since 2015. The City of Burlington has repeatedly told Antheia she is in violation of Burlington's bylaws, despite the bylaws allowing for naturalized areas. According to Antheia, "Every year they mischaracterize my naturalized area as a lawn and demand that I cut everything down to less than eight inches or they will come and do it themselves and charge me."</p>
<p>After discussions with the bylaw supervisor in July 2019, Antheia was assured her property was being maintained as a naturalized area and was in fact in compliance. One month later, after allegedly receiving many complaints from neighbours, the city sent Antheia a letter demanding she cut everything -- all the same plants that were in her yard when the city deemed it in compliance -- to less than eight inches or 20 centimetres. She had until August 20 to comply.</p>
<p>On August 16, while Antheia was exploring options to save her plants, the city cut six feet of her naturalized garden to less than an inch or 2.5 centimetres in height. No plants were spared, and the devastated milkweed were carted away to be composted -- undoubtably with Monarch eggs or caterpillars clinging to leaves and stalks.</p>
<p>On August 18, I published the <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/08/burlington-should-be-supporting-not-policing-native-plant" target="_blank">story</a> of Paul Raun and his garden. Three-quarters of Raun's front yard has been naturalized and is home to over 23 kinds of wildflowers, 12 types of shrubs and vines, three varieties of wild grasses, a sycamore tree and a redbud tree.</p>
<p>Raun purchased his wildflowers from reputable, qualified nurseries who specialise in indigenous plants. But, on August 14, Raun received notice that he was in violation of bylaw 59-2018 which states grass and ground cover must be cut to a height less than eight inches, or 20 cm. He had seven days to comply.</p>
<p>Raun made many attempts to speak with the bylaw officer, and finally heard from her the day after my article went online. Arrangements were made for two bylaw officers to visit Raun's garden on August 21, to confirm which plants constituted weeds under the bylaw.</p>
<p>After learning about what happened to Antheia's garden, Raun took two days off work to keep an eye on his plants.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, not one of Raun's plants was considered a weed. The bylaw officers did voice concerns over a vine growing along the side of the yard and some cypress trees growing along the property line. Both the vine and the cypress trees belonged to Paul's neighbour. No action was taken regarding these two violations.</p>
<p>In his backyard, Raun was asked to move rose bush and tree trimmings further away from his house and to cover them with soil. He complied with this request. According to Raun, "With respect to the wood pile, it consists of branches from a dead rose bush that had grown along the side of our back deck as well as low-hanging branches that I trimmed off a redbud tree. The bylaw officer suggested that I bury it just in case a neighbour complained about it."</p>
<p>Raun says,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"With respect to the discrepancy between the original order and the subsequent positive evaluation that bylaw officers Ibrahim and Natalie gave our native plants garden, it may have had to do with Natalie's lack of knowledge about plants. With respect to the need for a more detailed bylaw related to naturalised gardens, it is crucial to spell out the grounds on which one could have a wood pile consisting of cut branches and how far away it would have to be away from neighbouring dwellings, in addressing the issue of harbouring creatures at odds with the interior of one's dwelling.</p>
<p>With further respect, the rule for a two-feet buffer along property boundaries needs refining to consider a variety of potential scenarios. The officers raised no complaint about the wild grapevine growing along our southern fence along with wildflowers and wild prairie grasses spreading right up to it without a two-foot buffer. Why is it acceptable to have a fence running along a property line but not a row of shrubs to which any wild-flowers or tall grasses can run up, albeit kept a tiny bit back?"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both these situations, and many more across Burlington, are prime examples of the current bylaw being used by neighbours to harass and bully individuals embracing ecological landscaping into complying with unsustainable grass monoculture that permeates the conservative, eco-unfriendly city of Burlington, Ontario.</p>
<p><em>Doreen Nicoll is a freelance writer, teacher, social activist and member of several community organizations working diligently to end poverty, hunger and gendered violence.</em></p>
<div><em>Image: Doreen Nicoll</em></div>
</div></div></div>Sun, 08 Sep 2019 21:37:54 +0000Doreen Nicoll165046 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2019/09/eco-unfriendly-burlington-cuts-down-naturalized-garden#commentsHurricane Dorian reminds that time is short to avoid irreversible climate catastrophehttps://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/09/hurricane-dorian-reminds-time-short-avoid-irreversible-climate-catastrophe
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/environment">Environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/us-politics">US Politics</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/48680991862_2178d76238_k.jpg?itok=g7gWuhtF" width="1180" height="600" alt="Damage from Hurricane Dorian in Treasure Cay, Bahamas Sept. 4, 2019. Image: Erik Villa Rodriguez/U.S. Coast Guard/Flickr " title="Damage from Hurricane Dorian in Treasure Cay, Bahamas Sept. 4, 2019. Image: Erik Villa Rodriguez/U.S. Coast Guard/Flickr " /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Hurricane Dorian devastated parts of the Bahamas, laying waste to much of the islands of Grand Bahama and Abacos. "We are in the midst of a historic tragedy," Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Monday. The death toll there is 20 but is expected to rise, as reports from rescue teams and survivors emerge. In one unconfirmed report, an entire family was found huddled together, embracing each other in death. Hurricane Dorian, like Maria, Irma, Florence and Harvey before, signifies a deadly data point in the irrefutable case that human-induced climate change is real and is wreaking havoc with our planet.</p>
<p>"Dorian" is an appropriate moniker for this hurricane. The name itself was coined by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde in his controversial 1891 novel, <em>The Picture of Dorian Gray</em>. In the story, Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, hides a portrait of himself in a locked room. He wanted to pursue a wasteful, hedonistic lifestyle, but avoid losing his good looks to the ravages of such a life. "He had uttered a mad wish that he himself might remain young, and the portrait grow old," Wilde wrote, "that his own beauty might be untarnished, and the face on the canvas bear the burden of his passions and his sins." Dorian Gray lived a reckless, excessive life, but stayed young and vigorous, while the hidden portrait aged hideously.</p>
<p>The story could well serve as an allegory for the United States and its profligate role in driving the planet into the worsening climate catastrophe. The U.S. remains the world's historically greatest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is the wealthiest country in history, too, but achieved that with over 150 years of unrelenting industrial pollution, treating the world's atmosphere as an open sewer for the toxic exhaust from its smokestacks and tailpipes.</p>
<p>Now, U.S. President Donald Trump denies that there is a problem, pointing to rising polluting economies like China and India. While China, with its 1.4 billion people, is currently the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, the U.S. is still a close second, with all other nations far behind. Plus, our per capita emissions are still among the highest, signifying, on average, a carbon-intensive, unsustainable lifestyle.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, on the frontlines of the climate disaster, entire communities are damaged or destroyed. Bangladesh is experiencing the worst flooding in a century. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports that 7.6 million people there are at risk of hunger and disease. A deadly heat wave swept across Europe this summer, breaking temperature records and sparking wildfires. Ice sheets in Antarctica are melting much faster than previously known, leading to one estimate that sea level rises as a result could displace 2 billion people by the year 2100.</p>
<p>"This is the fourth consecutive year that we have witnessed an extremely devastating Atlantic hurricane season, including Category 5 hurricanes like Dorian. The sequence cannot be divorced from the fact that these last five years have been the hottest ever recorded because of the continuing rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said Denis McClean, spokesperson for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. "Hurricane Dorian crystallizes the existential threat posed to small island developing states by the ongoing climate emergency."</p>
<p>The population of the Bahamas currently is about 90 per cent Afro-Bahamian. The country's history is interwoven with colonialism and liberation. Christopher Columbus' first landfall in 1492 was in the Bahamas, where he launched a genocide against the Indigenous inhabitants. After Britain eliminated the slave trade in 1807, many who escaped slavery in the U.S., as well as Seminoles fleeing the U.S. army in Florida, found refuge in the Bahamas.</p>
<p>"The Bahamas, like the rest of the Caribbean, is extremely vulnerable also due to the ongoing legacy of colonialism, the legacy of slavery and indenture that manifested in systemic global exploitation and local corruption," Dr. Christian Campbell, a Bahamian poet, scholar and essayist who was born on Grand Bahama, said Tuesday on the <em>Democracy Now!</em> news hour.</p>
<p>Rescue efforts in the Bahamas are severely hampered by the level of destruction. Inlets are impassable, docks are damaged, and the airports are either under water or simply destroyed. The U.S. Coast Guard is providing aid. But the United States, as the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases in history, has a much larger role to play.</p>
<p>Dorian Gray, in Oscar Wilde's novel, was ultimately consumed by his excesses, dead on the floor beneath his portrait. The Bahamian survivors of Hurricane Dorian will overcome, and forge a path forward. But time is short for the United States to change its ways and assume its proper place in the global effort to avoid irreversible climate catastrophe.</p>
<p><em>Amy Goodman is the host of </em>Democracy Now!<em>, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,300 stations. She is the co-author, with Denis Moynihan, of </em>The Silenced Majority<em>, a New York Times bestseller. This column originally appeared on </em>Democracy Now<em>.</em></p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/coastguardnews/48680991862/in/photolist-2haLNRU-2haKVAG-2haLNQr-2haJbfH-2haJbeA-2haLNNN-2haJ5D7-2haKPTj-2haJ5DN-2haKPTe-2haKPrh-2haJ58x-2haLGT6-2haLGSu-2haHTEr-2haHThx-2haG89B-2haG81W-2haHR1Z-2haJGhk-2haHQka-2haHQbC-2haJFPw-2haJFdX-2haHPj7-2haH9Wm-2haExix-2haGhrc-2haH8Nj-2haEvRE-2haGAaz-2haDY1a-2haFHdi-2haDXKq-2haFH5H-2haDXAT-2haDXzk-2haEMZ4-2haFEqa-2haAozT-2haxL84-2hazGYD-2hayfYo-2hawqd5-2havwup-2hasUK4-2hasUfb-2hasSH8-2havtWK-2havrLT" target="_blank">Erik Villa Rodriguez/U.S. Coast Guard/Flickr</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/5912">Climate Change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/38364">Amy Goodman</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/bios/denis-moynihan">Denis Moynihan</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">September 5, 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/08/greta-thunberg-picks-torch-activist-frances-crowe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg picks up the torch from activist Frances Crowe</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The departure of one elder activist on the eve of the arrival of one so young symbolizes, bittersweetly, the passing of a torch.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio/2019/07/youth-climate-strike-movement-canada">The youth climate strike movement in Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Emma Lim and Rebecca Hamilton talk about Climate Strike Canada and the local and national organizing that is building the youth climate strike movement.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2018/12/running-out-time-excuses-activists-sound-alarm-climate-change-summit-poland" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Running out of time, excuses: Activists sound alarm at climate change summit in Poland</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Among those gathered at the annual UN climate change summit are two young women, who have decided to devote their lives to reversing humanity&#039;s destructive addiction to fossil fuels.</div></div></div>Thu, 05 Sep 2019 19:32:29 +0000rabble staff164926 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/09/hurricane-dorian-reminds-time-short-avoid-irreversible-climate-catastrophe#commentsNon-violent civil disobedience -- why is this a hard concept for Canadians to understand?https://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio/2019/09/non-violent-civil-disobedience-why-hard-concept-canadians
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/40095">Victoria Fenner</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-10 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio">rabble radio</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/RepealClimateChange_ExtinctionRebellion.jpg?itok=dgNjc19T" width="1180" height="600" alt="Image: Sebastian Dooris/Flickr" title="Image: Sebastian Dooris/Flickr" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">September 5, 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/elections">Elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/environment">Environment</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>As the climate crisis escalates, new solutions and new groups are emerging to becoming part of the dialogue. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_Rebellion" target="_blank">Extinction Rebellion</a> is a fairly new one -- it started just last year in the U.K. on May 18, 2018. Its first major action was the blocking of five bridges across the Thames just last November.</p>
<p>Since then, there have been Extinction Rebellion groups coming together in other parts of the world, including <a href="https://extinctionrebellion.ca/" target="_blank">here in Canada</a>. Their core values are summarized in three points -- tell the truth, act now and form a citizens' assembly to determine how the changes will happen. The group’s actions are very direct, very visible and include non violent civil diobedience.</p>
<p>Civil disobedience is something that is little understood by the general population here in Canada. rabble podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner called Rocky Petkov, an organizer with Extinction Rebellion in Toronto. They talked a lot about that, and also their plans to have an effect on the results of the upcoming election. </p>
<p><em>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sebastiandooris/45200370014/" target="_blank">Sebastian Dooris/Flickr</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/extinction-rebellion">extinction rebellion</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/non-violent-civil-disobedience">non violent civil disobedience</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/movements">movements</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/5929">climate crisis</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-mp3 field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">
<div class="jp-audio">
<div class="jp-type-single">
<div id="jplayer-node-164906-field-mp3-1568540419" class="jp-jplayer"></div>
<div id="jplayer-node-164906-field-mp3-1568540419_interface" class="jp-interface">
<ul class="jp-controls">
<li><a href="#" class="jp-play" tabindex="1">play</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-pause" tabindex="1">pause</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-stop" tabindex="1">stop</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-mute" tabindex="1">mute</a></li>
<li><a href="#" class="jp-unmute" tabindex="1">unmute</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="jp-progress">
<div class="jp-seek-bar">
<div class="jp-play-bar"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="jp-volume-bar">
<div class="jp-volume-bar-value"></div>
</div>
<div class="jp-current-time"></div>
<div class="jp-duration"></div>
</div>
<div id="jplayer-node-164906-field-mp3-1568540419_playlist" class="jp-playlist">
<ul><li class="first jp-playlist-first last jp-playlist-last" oncontextmenu=""><a href="https://rpn.s3.amazonaws.com/rr%20extinction%20rebellion%20Sep%205%2019.mp3" id="jplayer-node-164906-field-mp3-1568540419_item_0" tabindex="1" onclick="">Extinction Rebellion and non-violent civil disobedience</a></li>
</ul> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div>Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:34:28 +0000Victoria Fenner164906 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/rabble-radio/2019/09/non-violent-civil-disobedience-why-hard-concept-canadians#commentsKAIROS Canada launches Climate Action Monthhttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/kairos-witness/2019/09/kairos-canada-launches-climate-action-month
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Amelia Berot-Burns</div><div class="field-item odd">Chrystal Désilets</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="https://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/cover-1.png?itok=YAja2QtR" width="1180" height="600" alt="KAIROS Climate Action Month" title="KAIROS Climate Action Month" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>To galvanize awareness and action on the climate emergency, KAIROS is promoting September as <a href="https://www.kairoscanada.org/climateactionmonth" target="_blank">Climate Action Month</a> in the lead-up to the federal election. KAIROS is posting an event, blog post, environmental challenge -- or combination of all three -- to an online calendar every day in September. Events and resources will be regional, national, and international in scope, and will also highlight the work of its members and networks.</p>
<p>This KAIROS initiative is intended to further reconciliation by encouraging discussion and reflection on how climate change and Indigenous issues are deeply interwoven. KAIROS' climate action is rooted in reconciliation and this initiative is intended to amplify and prioritize Indigenous voices. </p>
<p>"Now more than ever, we must unite in our efforts to bring climate justice to the forefront of everyone's thoughts," says Chrystal Désilets, KAIROS' Indigenous rights program coordinator. "Grassroots actions, like the Mother Earth Water Walk by water carriers from Quebec, help us to remember the ways we are all connected."</p>
<p>The fossil fuel economy has dramatically altered Canada's landscape and degraded the environment. Climate change is manifesting in every part of the country through flooding, permafrost loss, larger wildfires, and warming temperatures. It is also having disproportionate impacts, such as the forced displacements of Indigenous communities. </p>
<p>The KAIROS Climate Action Month calendar will showcase communities across the country and internationally that are taking concrete steps to halt the climate emergency.</p>
<p>"We hope this KAIROS initiative will serve as inspiration for communities to come together. Through collaboration we can create positive change," says Amelia Berot-Burns, ecological justice coordinator for KAIROS Canada.</p>
<p>Week one focuses on <a href="https://www.kairoscanada.org/climate-action-month-day-2-introducing-water-week" target="_blank">water</a>. Week two will focus on Indigenous rights. The weeks that follow will spotlight community action and the federal election. Posts offer calls to action, helpful resources, giveaways, book and online resources, news services, and hopeful messages via videos, interviews, blogs, and spiritual reflections. It also highlights the work of congregations, communities, and national and international partners. </p>
<p>Visit <a href="http://kairoscanada.org/climateactionmonth" target="_blank">this link</a> to learn more.</p>
<p><em>Chrystal Désilets is KAIROS Canada's Indigenous rights program coordinator. Amelia Berot-Burns is ecological justice coordinator for KAIROS Canada.</em></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:26:52 +0000KAIROS Canada164881 at https://rabble.cahttps://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/kairos-witness/2019/09/kairos-canada-launches-climate-action-month#comments